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STELLAR STORIES: Creepy and True: Mummies Exposed!

Creepy and True: Mummies Exposed!
By Kerrie Logan Hollihan
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2019. Informational.

For a few months when I was a little kid, my family lived in London, England where my favorite activity was visiting the British Museum to see the mummies. There is something about a mummy that just never gets old, and as this book (the first in the Creepy and True series) points out - there is always something new to learn. Even if your reader knows all about Egyptian mummies already, they likely haven't heard of soap mummies, bog mummies, or bronzed mummies yet. This expertly compiled compendium will introduce them to the most famous mummies in the world.

I found this book completely fascinating, and I think other mummy fans will too. Many of the stories were familiar to me, but were so well-told I didn't even mind. In addition, there were a very generous number of "factlets" about mummies ancient and modern (like, really modern) that rounded out the book for me. A fair warning, this book lives up to its title and so I wouldn't say it's for the faint-of-heart -- but the brave will be well-educated and well-entertained.


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